The energy transition is supported by a broad political and social spectrum in Germany. However, the more progress is made towards practical implementation, the greater the challenges, particular from a societal perspective. The aim of the project “Energy Transition Sat-Nav for the Recording, Analysis and Simulation of System Networks” (ENavi) at the University of Stuttgart is to ensure that the social aspects of the energy transition are factored in during the early stages of the development of solutions and transition paths.
“The objective of the ENavi project is to gain a robust knowledge base to give us a better understanding of the complex processes involved in the energy transition and in particular one that takes account of all relevant perspectives”, says Professor Kai Hufendiek, Director of the Institute of Energy Economics and the Rational Use of Energy (IER) at the University of Stuttgart, Chairman of the Stuttgart Research Initiative on Integrated Systems Analysis for Energy (STRise) and member of the Project Steering Board. The ENavi project team views the energy transition as a process of transformation of society as a whole and combines scientific analyses with socio-political needs. Technical feasibility, ecological compatibility, economic sustainability and social equity are all given equal importance.
Previous approaches to the system change concomitant to the energy transition have primarily focused on technical and economic aspects, according to Martin Steurer, research group leader for energy markets at the IER and Managing Director for the STrise. It was then left up to sociologists to get the necessary social buy in for whichever solution was deemed to be the optimum one. That has led to, and continues to cause, friction and implementation challenges – and often ultimately to higher costs. The ENavi project takes a more integrated approach: the research will factor in the social aspects right from the start. As Steurer points out, there is no master plan for achieving the overriding objective of the energy transition, which is to convert the existing energy system to one that is largely CO2-neutral and based on renewable resources. In addition to the technical and economic aspects, far more emphasis needs to be placed on societal trends, which leads rapidly to complications, particularly at the personal level.
“The transition should be cost effective, be more convenient and suit one’s personal lifestyle”, says Steurer, “it is often only then that ecological aspects are considered.” In his view, one of the “hard nuts” that the ENavi project will also need to crack is the fact that If Germany wants to make an effective contribution to climate protection then, in addition to the development of novel technologies compatible with industrial policy, there will be practical consequences and behavioural changes will be required, which are far harder to communicate in positive terms.
Germany’s Biggest Collaborative Project
The ENavi project, with over 200 participants, was launched in December 2016 in Berlin, where, according to both Hufendiek and Steurer, there was a “totally new spirit” in the air. For it is not only the sociologists whose views will also be considered, but rather, the project is deemed to be Germany’s biggest ever collaborative sociological project because, in addition to sociologists and economists, engineers and representatives of a host of other disciplines are also being included. The ENavi project is one of the four “Copernicus Projects” inaugurated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and forming the biggest energy transition research initiative to date. The collaboration involves 84 partner organisations throughout Germany.
Whereby, as the partner with the greatest investment in the project, the STRise research group plays an important role. The STRise research partnership includes researchers from the University of Stuttgart’s IER and the Stuttgart Research Center for Interdisciplinary Risk and Innovation Studies (ZIRIUS) in addition to the Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, Baden-Württemberg (ZSW). The researchers at Stuttgart have a budget of 60 man years to cover the initial threeyear phase of the ENavi project. During this phase, the IER, for example, will be looking into new economic approaches for the energy markets of the future that also take account of the preferences and acceptance criteria of the various participants. Conversely, the ZIRIUS will play a leading role in the project’s sociological workstream. All participants place great store in maintaining a vibrant culture of communication between all partners.
From the Drawing Board to Practical Trials
As Professor Hufendiek emphasises, the optimisation of the energy transition in respect of all sustainability factors should not take place on the drawing board alone. Therefore, three model regions have been selected for the ENavi project in which research findings will undergo practical trials. The Baden-Württemberg model region will be the focal point for innovation and industrial culture, whereas the urban Ruhr District will be used to study the transition in highly populated areas. Among other things, research in Berlin-Brandenburg will focus on the interaction between rural areas and the Berlin metropolis.
Practical approaches will primarily be tested in “living laboratories” in the second phase of the project, whose total estimated duration will be ten years. The vision and objective of the participating scientists is represented by the ENavi energy transition navigation device, whose resemblance to the familiar sat-nav commonly used in cars is not coincidental. As Martin Steurer explains: “We’re planning a data-based model that will meet the needs of the extremely dynamic processes that the energy transition will entail. We will need to be able to immediately adapt the direction that energy transition developments may be taking at any given time to keep abreast of framework contingencies.”
Energy Transition als a tremendous transformational process
Various energy scenarios, simulations and behaviours will be saved in the ENavi programme, and the system will indicate how specific objectives can be achieved. “The basic idea”, says Steurer, “is that rather than determining a single route, the system will suggest various options that all lead to the defined objective.” The energy transition process presents some enormous challenges, the greatest of which will be maintaining the ability to always react appropriately to short and longer-term developments. The purpose of the navigation system is to make it easier to make such adjustments in future, which will increase popular acceptance.
Jens Eber